MHERST - There was a minute left, and his team led by a basket. Jonathan DePina, the man who was afraid to shoot last year, came down the middle with a clear look at the basket.

He stopped and popped at the foul line, and the basket did more than give the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team two crucial points in last night's 76-72 exhibition win over Marathon Basketball. It announced that when the 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard says he's more confident in his shot this year, he really means it.

Jon DePina ran an effective point for the Minutemen.

"The biggest thing I worked on in the off-season was my shot," said DePina, who scored nine points on 4-for-7 shooting, led UMass with six assists and perhaps most remarkably, had a team-high seven rebounds.

"I know I have to take the shot if it's there," said DePina, who bounced back from last week's 2-for-10 shooting against Team Fokus. "But I know what I can do."

DePina's jumper with 52 seconds left came on the heels of Chris Kirkland's jumper with 1:15 left that broke a 69-69 tie. The 24th-ranked Minutemen, who open Monday night at home against Niagara in the Preseason NIT, declared the night a success, if only because coach Bruiser Flint thinks the mistakes are correctable and players like DePina and redshirt freshman forward Ronell Blizzard showed they could play.

"We're still not communicating that well on the break, and a lot of our turnovers came from that," Flint said after UMass committed 18 miscues. "We've got to verbalize better, but I was pleased with the effort."

Guard Monty Mack and center Kitwana Rhymer, who missed last week's preseason win over Team Fokus with injuries, saw action last night. Mack had nine points in 16 minutes, and the 6-10 Rhymer didn't score but grabbed five rebounds in 11 minutes.

Experimental NCAA rules were used, including a 45-second shot clock (as opposed to the normal 35). There were also minor modifications in the free-throw lane and in when timeouts could be called. But the game was not played in 10-minute quarters, a concept explored last season, but in standard 20-minute halves.

UMass led 37-35 at halftime, but fell behind 55-50 before showing not only some fire and emotion, but the ability to finish plays. Blizzard, far quieter in the last night's first half than in last week's impressive effort against Team Fokus, sparked the rally by finishing an alley-oop off a Charlton Clarke pass, and also hit two free throws to make it 56-55 with 7:56 left.

Sophomore guard Rafael Cruz hit a 3-pointer to make it 63-59, and junior college transfer Anthony Oates slammed home a DePina pass on a three-on-one as the lead grew to six. But with former Saint Louis guard Erwin Claggett's 28 points leading the way, Marathon hung in.

Mike Babul works on his defense.

Even Central High School graduate Darryl Denson got in. The walk-on guard came in with 28 seconds left and made his brief time count, hitting a free throw and knocking a pass out of bounds as UMass held on.

Kirkland led UMass with 12 points. Mike Babul had eight as well as six rebounds, four off the offensive glass.

"Coach has been on us about going to the offensive boards, keeping balls alive and looking for tip-ins," Babul said.

"I think we showed some improvement from last week," said Clarke, who will start at point guard Monday with Mack at shooting guard and DePina coming off the bench. "Last week's game, I think we came out too anxious. Tonight, we looked to make the easy plays and execute."

MHERST - He came in with 12:30 left in the first half last night, greeted by no boos and a decent smattering of applause.

Monty Mack got back to business against Marathon.

Monty Mack's second University of Massachusetts season had begun, and right now, UMass is treating it as business as usual.

"My hand was bothering me a couple of days ago, but I'm used to it," said Mack, who scored nine points on 4-for-13 shooting in last night's 76-72 exhibition win over Marathon Basketball at Mullins Center. "And it wasn't bothering me too much at practice."

Mack cut his left hand on a piece of glass recently, in an incident unrelated to an alleged Nov. 1 campus fight in which his name has been linked. He expects to have the stitches in his hand removed in the next few days.

As for his off-court situation, a show-cause hearing will be held Nov. 20 in Northampton District Court to determine if charges will be filed. Neither the junior guard nor university officials are commenting on the case.

Mack hit a 10-foot jumper less than a minute after entering the game last night. He came off the bench to play 16 minutes, but is expected to start in Monday's opener at home against Niagara.

BRAND NEW: UMass officials cannot comment on reports that Micah Brand will officially sign his letter of intent with the Minutemen, but sources indicate it may happen as early as today.

Brand, a 6-foot-10, 235-pounder at Milford (Conn.) Academy, has also been recruited by Miami and Penn State.

Yesterday was the first day of the early signing period. UMass will have two scholarships available after Lari Ketner and Charlton Clarke complete their eligibility this season, and Flint has said he wants to concentrate on getting big men. Another possibility is 6-8 forward Jonathan Oden of Phoenix, who is reportedly considering UMass, Xavier and DePaul.

IT'S POSSIBLE: Assuming UMass beats Niagara at home in its Preseason NIT opener Monday, the Minutemen are expected to play St. John's Wednesday in the second round. But if North Carolina-Asheville pulls a first-round upset at St. John's - and UMass wins - the second-round game would be Wednesday at Mullins Center.

Ticket manager Dennis Toney said he expects tickets to go on sale Tuesday if there is a home game, at the standard $20 price. Season ticket-holders would also pay that price and get their usual seat, even though the game is not on the package.

LONG DISTANCE: Junior college transfer Anthony Oates admits he has felt some homesickness, but says he's adjusting to life in New England. "I called a few friends back home the other day, and my mother says she'd like to come up here once," said Oates, who is from Phoenix and played at Yavapai Junior College near his home last season.

MHERST - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team stepped up its play significantly from last week's sloppy win over Team Fokus, beating Marathon Basketball, 76-72, in front of 5,302 people Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.

"I thought the game went pretty good," said UMass coach Bruiser Flint. "I was pleased with the effort today. We played a lot of people tonight and I'm pleased with the people that came off the bench."

The game might not have been as close it was, if not for a pair of ex-Conference USA stars.

Saint Louis' Erwin Claggett (28 points) and Cincinnati's Lazell Durden (14), who both played against the Minutemen in the mid-1990s, combined for 10 three-pointers, including a late-bomb by Durden that came from two steps outside of Hadley.

"There were some great shooters on the other team. Boy, I tell ya," said UMass guard Charlton Clarke. "It was a good game. The first game we came out very anxious. This game we better prepared ourselves. We came out and executed early and showed a lot of improvement."

The game completes the exhibition season for the Minutemen, who open their regular season Monday at 7 p.m. against Niagara at home in the first game of the preseason NIT.

After the game Flint announced that his four returning starters from last year - Clarke, Lari Ketner, Mike Babul, and Monty Mack - had retained their spots and that Ajmal Basit will step in at power forward.

Chris Kirkland was the leading scorer for the Minutemen in Wednesday's game, with 12 points in 20 minutes. Sophomore Jonathan DePina had a solid overall performance with nine points, a game-high seven rebounds, six assists, and no turnovers.

No UMass player was on the court longer than 26 minutes. Ketner scored all seven of his points in the first 13 minutes of the game and was used sparingly in the second half.

Monty Mack made his return to the Minuteman lineup wearing a bandage on his injured left hand.

"It didn't bother me too much in the game," he said.

Sophomores Kitwana Rhymer and Darryl Denson both made their Minuteman debuts. After nursing a sprained ankle through most of the preseason, Rhymer played 11 minutes, grabbed five rebounds and drew applause from the crowd for diving on the floor for a loose ball.

"I was happy for him," Flint said. "He just started practicing again on Sunday. He rebounds. He gets up in the air. He goes after balls. He dove. The thing you didn't see tonight is that he blocks shots."

Denson, a walk-on, came in for the final minute of play and hit one of two free throws.

The Minutemen led most of the way, but Marathon rallied to cut the UMass lead to 68-67 on a long three-pointer by Durden with 2:07 remaining. However, Kirkland scored five of UMass' last eight points, including three free throws, to ice the win.

MHERST - University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint likes to show sophomore point guard Jonathan DePina videotapes.

Sometimes the screen shows George Washington fireball Shawnta Rogers, while at other times the film is of Flint himself directing the St. Joseph's Hawks in the mid-1980s.

For Flint, point guard play is a passionate subject, not only because he was once a floor general himself, but because he believes it is essential to a team's success.

After an erratic freshman campaign, where the South Boston native showed flashes of brilliance but fizzled down the stretch, hesitating to even shoot the ball, Flint is counting on DePina to improve as a sophomore.

Wednesday night against Marathon Basketball, DePina took a big step forward toward achieving the level that Flint is demanding.

DePina knocked down open jumpers, including a three-pointer.

He ran the up-tempo offense effectively, with six assists and no turnovers.

Despite being 5-foot-9, he grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. At times he even looked liked Shawnta Rogers.

Impressed both coaches

His performance impressed coaches on both benches.

"I've seen DePina play before and that's his game," said Marathon coach Glen Sergent. "I told my guys before the game that if he started the game that they'd feel the pressure on their rear ends all the way up the court and that's exactly what he did.

"They scored four or five easy baskets in the first half because he pushed the ball up the court. We might have been in front of him but we weren't ready for him."

"I thought Jonathan did a great job, no turnovers, six assists," Flint said. "Last game he didn't play this way. When he plays this way, we look better."

Flint was especially proud of his sophomore because at the end of last season he sent DePina home and told him to improve his jumper and get stronger. DePina apparently obliged.

"The biggest thing I worked on in the off-season was my jump shot. I got to take it if I'm open. So I just took the shot," said DePina, who said he's more comfortable on the court than he was a year ago. "I know more of what to expect. I know what I can do and what not to do, so I feel a lot better."

But for Flint, the battle is only half over. Now the coach wants to see his point guard become a leader.

"We need to get better with our verbalization on the court and I get on Jonathan about that. Jonathan doesn't speak. That kills you on the court. If you have certain guys out there, if you can't talk them through things at times, we look sloppy," Flint said. "I wanted to keep him out there at the end of the game so he has to talk and be in control. If he does that, it makes us a better team.

"That's the thing about being a point guard that people don't understand - you have to think for other people on the floor," Flint explained. "I always tell my point guards that with great point guards, I could put you at any position on the floor and you could play that position because you understand what's going on out on the court. Sometimes you have to verbalize that. I think that hurts us at times."

According to Flint, DePina has to work even harder because of his diminutive stature.

"I'm not big on little guards. People look at me and they say you're not that big, but I'm much bigger than Jonathan," Flint said. "Little guys have to think more, because physically he can't do certain things. Physically he can't do what Charlton Clarke can do. He has to think more. When he does that, the kid is going to be a great point guard."

n the University of Massachusetts' 76-72 win over Marathon Basketball, sophomore guard Jonathan Depina did two things he didn't do last season -- lead the team in rebounding and hit a clutch jump shot.

The Minutemen won't need to rely on Depina to grab seven rebounds every night but they will need to have him hit opens shots that come up due to zone defenses and double teams of Lari Ketner.

So when the 5-9 Depina confidently stuck a pull-up jumper from about the foul line to give UMass a four-point lead with less than 30 seconds to play, coach Bruiser Flint had to smile along with the rest of us.

Ronell Blizzard on D against Marathon's Daryl Cunningham.

Depina also had a chance to work on his floor generalship, when with less than a minute to play and the game very much in doubt, Flint sent out what seemed like a makeshift lineup of Chris Kirkland, Depina, Kitwana Rhymer, Ronell Blizzard and walk-on Darryl Denson. Now if you were at the game and wondered "What's Bruiser thinking?" you weren't alone. But, Flint of course, had a plan.

"Jonathan doesn't talk," Bruiser said. "At the end of the game, I put him out there with people he needed to be verbal with." Let's hope the rest of Flint's plans go as well. UMass hit key foul shots, Depina hit his jumper and UMass won the game. Exhibition games, of course, means nothing - unless, you lose. Depina's performance in this "meaningless" game meant a lot.

Stats and stuff
UMass high scorer was junior Chris Kirkland (12 points). Kirkland also grabbed three offensive rebounds and was active around the hoop all night, which led to his team-leading eight free-throw attempts (he made six).

Junior-college transfer Anthony Oates was a perfect 6 for 6 from the line. Oates looked a bit nervous at times. But with solid rebounding skills and the ability to hit foul shots, the big guy may get some minutes.

Rafael Cruz was a good news/bad news story. He hit two big three-points shots and handed out four assists, but he committed four turnovers in 15 minutes of play.

Defensive stopper Mike Babul scored eight pointers and grabbed four offensive rebounds -- generally causing havoc around the glass.

Charlton Clarke worked hard to stop Marathon's scoring touch.

The UMass Bruiser Ball play of the game goes to Kitwana Rhymer, who dove hard for a loose ball. He didn't get the ball, but the effort didn't go unnoticed by the Mullins crowd. Rhymer also had five rebounds in just 11 minutes of play.

Who was that guy? UMass Charlton Clarke: "They had some great shooters ... some really great shooters." Clarke didn't name names but he was talking about Marathon's Erwin Claggert. Claggert scored 28 points and at one point was 5 for 5. When he finally missed a three-pointer, the crowd cheered. UMass fans may remember Claggert from his Universtiy of St Louis days.

Worst line score of the night: Marathon's 6-11 center Richard Shaw had two points and five fouls in just 16 minutes of play. Too bad ... UMass big men could have used more time against the big guy. (Maybe after a few minutes against Ketner, fouling out seemed like a good idea.)